Mosquito range is done.

This last weekend a friend of mine and I climbed Mt Bross. It was a fairly easy climb and took us about 4 and a half hours round trip. Unfortunately the summit of Mt Bross is currently closed due to private property. So out of respect for the land owners we decided to climb to the "summit closed sign" just below the 14000ft line and claim that as the summit. Considering all of the other climbs I have done this year this climb was very uneventful. The trail was in good condition and there were no real sketchy parts. The trail leading dow was a little rough, however I consider the way down to be the worst part of each climb. Unless there is snow so I can use my ice axe or my skis to get down. Once again I would like to thank everyone for all of your love and support. And to all of the survivors of sexual assault and violence. You have been my inspiration for all of these climbs. During the dissents when I realize I am running on 4 hours of sleep, my toes are jamming in the front of my boots, my knees hurt, Im tripping over every single rock in a miserable scree field, The sun is getting hot,
I cant tell if thats a low flying jet or lightning on the other side of a ridge, And on top of all of that my truck is still 3 miles away, over a river and up a hill. But after all of that I remind myself why Im hear and who I am doing this for and it dos not seem that bad. Looking back on all the climbs I would not trade them for anything.

44 to go
Andrew Green

 Cool waterfall

As close as we could get

Stream

Sunrise on Grays and Torries

        During some time I had off away from school my buddy Chris and I decided to try the sunrise climb again on Mt Grays and Torries. We had boots on the trail around 2 A.M. and it took about 4 hours to climb. With no moon to help us see we relied entirely on our headlamps for route finding. when we would stop for a break we would shut off our headlamps so we could see every bit of the galaxy and the stars. When we finally got to the summit of Mt Grays the sky was starting to change colors rapidly. The wind was starting to blow like crazy and since we had stopped moving we both realized how cold the summit can be at 6 A.M. As the sun finally cracked the horizon we snapped all the pictures we could then started eyeing out our route down and then up to the summit of Mt Torries. We made it down the saddle and then up to the summit of Mt Torries. We ate some snacks and got our pictures of the summit then started the 4 hour trek to get back down to the truck. So far that is 9 summits in the bag.

Thanks for everyones love, support, and patience. This has been such an amazing trip so far
                                 

Mt Torries
                                      
 Mt Grays

 Summit of Grays

Chris and I relaxing the night before the climb

 Summit of Torries

 The sun finally breaking threw the horizon

 Summit of Torries

 It Wants it

Just as we reached the summit of Grays this was the view

Pyramid and Bierstadt

So two weeks ago one of my climbing buddies and I climbed Mt Bierstadt. We arrived at the trail head Friday night and set up our sleeping bags in the back of my truck bed and slept underneath the stars. around 1 A.M. we were woken up by a pack of coyotes howling about 30 yards from the truck. No worries though, we were safe...ish I had my can of bear spray and the ballistic protection our sleeping bags. :) We got boots on the trail around 4 A.M. and made the summit in about 4 hours and another 4 to get back down.

       Then there was Pyramid peak last sunday. And what a climb that was. Seriously! If my folks saw what I was climbing I would be soooo grounded rite now. Of the 6 hardest 14ers in Colorado Pyramid is one of them. The entire climb took about 10 hours the first pitch was steep but not that bad. Then we hit the section called the "Amphitheater" that was one giant scree field of loose rocks that was very difficult to hike threw. Then we hit the second pitch which was also very steep. Once we got to the ridge the real challenge started. We new we were heading in the rite direction when we came across a section called " The Leap of Faith" It was more of a hop of faith but there was still a good size drop. then the rest of the way to the summit was allot of route finding and bouldering. It was difficult enough where rock climbing skills were needed but setting up ropes and protection was not. We made it to the summit and could see the entire elk mountain range. After we got our summit photos we very carefully started the hike down. once we got past the " leap of faith" we stopped for some lunch and a group of mountain goats moved in around us. For our climb down the second pitch I had one mountain goat that stayed within 20 feet of me for most of the dissent. I also got great footage of a baby mountain goat and its mother looking for plants to eat. It was amazing to see how sure footed they were and how fast they can move along the mountain side.  

So far the count is 7 summits in the bag and 47 to go. Slowly but surely Im getting there Thank you everyone for your love, support and patience with this project. I took this weekend off to help with family stuff and also give my knees a break.

See you all on the next summit
Andrew Green

working my way up Mt Bierstadt

summit of Mt Bierstadt

Part of the trail on pyramid. My climbing buddy Will

 Summit of Pyramid

Will on the ledge

 the Maroon bells (the Deadly Bells)

 This was Steve he followed me for a while

 I think he was trying to figure out what the upright was doing

  Finally getting back to the truck

keeping the ball rolling

Hi everyone.
           Ok so 2 weeks ago Some of my buddies and myself summited Mt Sherman. It was a great hike with beautiful weather and views. As we approached the summit we could watch clouds billowing into storms only a couple hundred feet above us but they were scattered had no thunder or lightning so we pressed on. and made it to the summit. The hike back down went well, there was a couple of snow patches we were able to slide down and shave some time off of the hike. This last weekend me and two of my friends attempted a sunrise Mt Grays and Torrys. We had boots on the trail around 1:45 AM and the super moon shining on the entire trail. For most of the hike we did not even need our head lamps. As we were hiking to the mountain we could spot the glimmer of headlamps on the face of the mountain trudging up to the summit. It was such an amazing experience to see just headlamps on the mountain heading to the same place we were trying to get too. Unfortunately as we started to gain Altitude one of our team members started to get altitude sickness and we decided to follow proper mountaineering practice and escort them back down to a lower elevation and make sure they were safe. I would have loved to summit but the safety of your crew must always come first. Any way this weekend I will be knocking out another sunrise climb on Mt Bierstadt. Then for the 4th of july weekend I plan on taking on one of the harder peaks like the Crestone needle or Pyramid peak. and after that weekend I will try Grays and Torrys again. If anyone is interested in climbing with me please do not be afraid to shoot me an e-mail AcesHigh1988@yahoo.com

 top of mount Sherman

base of Mt Grays

Long needed update

Hello everyone
           Sorry its been a while, this last winter there were a lot of avalanches and I was unable to climb also my brother and his wife had twin boys so I have been helping with that.
     Anyway I was able to climb Mt Democrat back in January and I have recently summited Mt Evans and Mt Lincoln. Also when we climbed Mt Lincoln we went up and over Mt Cameron which technically is not a 14er because the saddle that connects to Mt Lincoln dos not drop below 300 feet between the mountains.
        My next climb will be a sunrise climb up Mt Grays and Mt Torreys. This climb is open to everyone and will be the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of June. We can meet at ether the Morrison exit or the exit off of I-70 to the road leading to the trail head. I plan on camping out Saturday night and then starting the hike around 1 A.M. with headlamps. After we watch the sunrise from the summit of Mt Grays I plan on dropping down the saddle and climbing Mt Torreys as well. If anyone feels they cannot climb both mountains they can always head down after the sunrise. Afterward I plan on getting a nap by my truck before heading back to Denver.
     The best way to get a hold of me would be my E-mail AcesHigh1988@yahoo.com
Also here is a link to the route for Mt Grays and Torreys

http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=torr5&peak=Grays+Peak+and+Torreys+Peak 

Thank you so much for everyones patience and I hope to see all of you on the summit with me

Andrew Green

Top of Mt Lincoln

Mt Quandary

21Dec12 I started my 14ers project for RAAP. My friend Matt and I climbed Mt Quandary in the 10 mile range. It was about 6.75 miles round trip. We started the hike snowshoeing and at the half way point we dropped our snow shoes because the snow was more windblown and easier to hike. My friend Matt started to feel a headache coming on and decided to wait for me to summit. Normally I would have turned around but there were enough people on the mountain, the weather was fine and my friend was already feeling better after a 10 min rest. I continued hiking until I hit the summit. Once I made it to the summit I shot a quick video and turned around. When we finally finished the hike it was just getting dark and we realized we had been climbing for about 8 hours. It was a great day and I cannot wait to get up the next one. Im thinking about trying Mt Lincoln or Mt Sherman next I will keep everyone posted.

See you on the summit
Andrew Green

First post of many

Hi everyone
       My name is Andrew Green and I am a volunteer with RAAP ( Rape Assistance and Awareness program). My goal is to climb every 14er in Colorado to help raise awareness for sexual assault in Colorado. I will be updating this blog after I complete a climb or for future climbs if anyone wants to join me. Most of the climbs will be done during the summer of 2013 but I will be trying to knock some of them out this winter. I will also be making a video dairy to document the whole adventure including pictures of the RAAP logo on top of each peak.
        There are 54 mountains that are above 14,000 ft in elevation in Colorado. Unfortunately, Mt Bross's summit is closed but there is a chance it could open in the summer. A couple of the 14ers are close enough together that they can be climbed on the same day. However there are a couple of them that require a backpacking trip just to get to the base of the mountain.
       I really do not want to climb any of these mountains by myself so I will be taking some of my friends that I am comfortable climbing with, but I have no problem taking new climbers or volunteers with me. Just remember if you want to climb with me the better shape you are in the easier it will be. And the better you pre-game the night before ( ex. eating a high carb meal, drinking a gallon of water, and/or camping out at altitude), the less likely it will be to get altitude sickness or get hurt. Some of the more difficult climbs will require more safety equipment such as climbing helmets, harnesses, rope and rock-climbing aids.
       I cant wait to start this adventure and hopefully I can see some of you on the summit with me.